What are you doing here? I live on Long Island and there are two animals found here that are way out of there normal living range. I'm sure there must be others that's in this category, but these are two that I have actually seen. Both of these animals are warm climate animals and have found a home on Long Island which is a cold climate. Monk Parrot I have seen these on my cousins bird feeder and they're rather large nest on the top of light and electrical poles. My cousin lives about five miles from me so maybe one day I'll see them on my property. They live here year-round and have adapted to our cold Winters. Birds that live outside of their normal range are called accidental Birds. They are native to South America, but have established themselves in many cities across the u.s. Since these were sold in Pet Shops speculation is they got free or an owner set them free. Maybe they were blown off course by a storm, we'll never know the real reason there on Long Island. They have also established themselves about 35 miles from here in Brooklyn and Queens also. Italian Wall Lizard I have seen these on the boardwalk in the middle of Long Island. Just sit there and shortly you see a dozen or so scampering around. I wasn't aware they were there so I was completely surprised to see them. Story is a Pet Shop delivery accidentally release them Into the Wild. The mystery is how did they get to so many different locations so far apart. The original release point was supposed to be Western Long Island, where I saw them was at least 40 miles away. They have also been spotted in my neighborhood, which is 20 miles from either point. This is another animal I wouldn't mind living on my property, I'm sure it will help reduce the bug population. How many of you have animals living in your area that are not native?
I'm shocked that parrots can survive the winters of New York. I would be shocked to see them survive the winters of Virginia...they have very delicate respiratory systems. I wonder how they survive the cold? In order to answer your question, I had to turn to the internet. There is a whole slew of stuff in Virginia that is not "native." Most (but not all) of these are likely not native to the states. Sticking to the animal kingdom, we got cows, horses, honeybees, pigs, coyote, mute swans, zebra mussel, flathead catfish, blue catfish, English sparrow, starling, and a bunch of other stuff. A few of those I was aware of being foreign/invasive. But as you know, it all depends on what point in time you draw the line to say that something is "native." I used to have this conversation with a friend who belonged to a group of folks who only planted "native" species in their yards. Everyone drew the line of demarcation at a different place. My website defines this as "before the Europeans arrived." Your modern-day examples are a lot clearer than mine...and I'm unaware of anything commonly seen that was introduced within the past couple of generations.
I remember seeing or reading about Starlings being introduced in this country I believe they came from England.There was a section in the rear of one of the bird books I had about accidental Birds. It listed all the birds that made a home in this country from far away places. You're right a parrot living in the Northeast is bizarre. As far as the lizard goes I don't know for sure but I would think it hibernates in the winter like a snake.